‘Crops, people and rare birds will all be at risk’
Virtual tractor that feels like real thing CRITICS SLAM NEW SHOOTING LICENCES FOR BIRD CONTROL
FURIOUS farmers and landowners have condemned new bird shooting rules that they claim will leave crops vulnerable to pests and hinder conservation efforts in Wales.
New General Licences, for the control of certain bird species, have been introduced by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and will come into effect on Monday.
It follows a review of the licensing system prompted by pressure group Wild Justice, which sought a legal challenge in England earlier this year.
The Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) said the new, tougher licences go much further than legally required and accused NRW of letting pest control be “hijacked” by activists.
BASC, Britain’s largest shooting group, labelled the changes “irresponsible, ill-advised and akin to waiting for the house to be on fire before acting”.
Three new General Licences will be available, with the following key changes:
Several bird species have been removed from certain licences – rooks and collared doves can no longer be controlled to prevent crop damage or protect human health.
A licence for conservation purposes will only be allowed to protect “red” or “amber” species of conservation concern.
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Buffer zones of 300 metres, in which no shooting is permitted under General Licences, have been placed around 203 SSSIs in Wales. In the Dyfi estuary the buffer zone will be 500m.
For the control of birds not covered by these conditions, shooters must apply for an individual licence.
Licence holder will no longer need to show they have first tried all other non-lethal control methods – NRW now says all other methods are ineffective.
Ironically, said the FUW, the new licences will “tie the hands” of NRW staff seeking to protect rare species of birds and other wildlife at designated sites.
“NRW has statutory biodiversity obligations but it has introduced changes which will actually make it more difficult to control species that cause immense damage to wildlife,” said Tudur Parry, chairman of the FUW’s land use committee.
An updated licence to protect public health will no longer allow the control of carrion crow, magpie, jackdaw, rook, jay, collared dove or wood pigeon.
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Only feral pigeons can be shot for this reason.
Farmers are particularly alarmed by NRW’s decision to prevent rooks being shot where they are damaging crops.
Mr Parry said: “Rooks cause huge damage to crops and can decimate vast areas where seeds have been sewn.
“Preventing such damage caused by a very common species is ridiculous.”
Steve Griffiths, BASC director for Wales, warned: “NRW’s proposals have the potential for a wide-range of unintended consequences and shooting organisations will be fully considering potential actions going forward.”
From next year the licences will be reviewed on a “rolling” basis, with a full licensing consultation in 2020.
NRW said it took legal advice which showed the old licences were not lawful and had to be changed.
NRW director Ceri Davies said: “Our licensing system must be robust and proportionate, carefully balancing the needs of wildlife and people.”